Incapacity Benefit
This page is aimed at people who live in the Nottinghamshire County Council area who are claiming or intending to claim Incapacity Benefit. The information applies to people who are affected UK Social Security law.
On this page:
Section 1 - Who can claim and how is it paid?
Incapacity Benefit is paid to more people who are unfit for work, but you usually need to have paid enough National Insurance Contributions in the last 3 tax years to qualify. In certain circumstances some carers, disabled people on a low wage and young people below the age of 25 do not have to pass the stricter contribution test to get Incapacity Benefit. Ask for further advice if you think this may apply to you.
To qualify, you will have to fill in a questionnaire and may be asked to go for a medical. This is known as the Personal Capability Assessment.
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Who is affected?
Incapacity Benefit and the Personal Capability Assessment affects most people who become sick and incapable of work. If you are working you can claim Statutory Sick Pay from your employer for the first 28 weeks of sickness. After this you claim Incapacity Benefit and may qualify, but will usually need to have paid enough contributions in the last 3 tax years. If in doubt claim.
If you are not working you may be able to claim Incapacity Benefit or Income Support straight away. You will have to send in medical certificates until you have passed the medical assessment. If you fail the assessment you may be able to claim Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance.
You may also be affected by the Personal Capability Assessment if you are claiming:
- Disability Premium as part of your Income Support, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit because you are sending in sick notes.
- Non-contributory Incapacity Benefit paid to younger disabled people (including people receiving Severe Disablement Allowance before April 2001).
Some people are exempt from the assessment and will be able to receive the benefit without having an examination. For details of who this applies to see Section 2 on the Personal Capability Assessment.
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Aged between 16-20 years old?
If you have been incapable of work for at least 6 months and are not attending school full-time you may be able to claim Incapacity Benefit without having to pass any contribution test. This is known as Incapacity Benefit in youth. You will receive the short-term lower rate of Incapacity Benefit. After a year this will increase to the long-term rate.
It is important to claim straight away or you may not be able to get benefit in the future under these more generous rules.
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Aged between 20-24 years old?
You may also be able to qualify for Incapacity Benefit in youth but only if you have been unable to work for at least 28 weeks and were in full-time education (part-time, if your disability prevented you from studying full-time), or training for at least 3 months before you reached the age of 20.
You must have left your course or training to be able to get benefit and put in a claim within the 2 tax years of your course or training finishing. You must claim before your 25th birthday. This is a complicated area of law. Get advice if this situation applies to you.
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How is incapacity benefit paid?
Incapacity Benefit is paid at three rates depending on how long you have been incapable of work.
The three rates are:
- short term lower rate for the first 28 weeks of sickness - £59.20
- short term higher rate from 29 to 52 weeks of sickness - £70.05
- long term rate after 52 weeks sickness - £78.50
If you receive a private/occupational pension over £85 a week your Incapacity Benefit will be reduced. The reduction will be 50p for every pound of pension you get over £85 per week, for example if you private pension is £95 a week your Incapacity Benefit will be reduced by £5 a week. If you are in receipt of the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance you are exempt from this means test.
If you get the highest rate care component of the Disability Living Allowance or suffer from a terminal illness you will receive the long term of benefit with any additions from the 29th week of your illness.
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Additions if you are supporting an adult
You may be able to get extra money if:
- you support another adult who is caring for a child(ren) or
- your husband or wife is over 60. (You should also check entitlement to Pension Credit.)
The amount you receive will depend on any earnings or pension your partner has and the length of time you have been getting Incapacity Benefit.
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Children
To get financial support for your children you need to claim Child Tax Credit. To claim complete form TC600 from your Jobcentre Plus Office or from HM Revenue and Customs. Tel: 0845 300 3900 or download a form from their website: www.hmrc.gov.uk/allforms
If you were already receiving an addition for your children in your Incapacity Benefit claim prior to April 2003 you will continue to receive the following amounts unless your claim is broken for more than 8 weeks. Increases for children can only be paid if claim has been in continuous payment since April 2003.
First child - £9.25
Additional children - £11.35
If your partner works their earnings may affect the amount you receive.
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Age additions
If you become incapable of work before the age of 44 you will get an extra amount of benefit but only when you get the long term rate of benefit (usually after 52 weeks) The amounts are £16.50 if you are under 35 and £8.25 if you are aged 35-44.
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Over pension age
If you became unable to work shortly before reaching pension age (65 for men, 60 for women) you will get the short-term rate of Incapacity Benefit for up to a year. However, after you have reached retirement age the amount will be based on your Retirement Pension entitlement. It is not possible to get Incapacity Benefit if your illness begins after you reach pension age.
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Income Tax
Incapacity Benefit is taxable after 28 weeks. The amount of tax you pay will depend on what other taxable income you have.
If you transferred to Incapacity Benefit from Invalidity Benefit you will not have to pay tax unless there is a break in your claim of more than 8 weeks.
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Section 2 - The Personal Capability Assessment (formerly known as The All Work Test)
The Personal Capability Assessment is the way of testing if a person is incapable of work.
People who fail to qualify may be able to claim Income Support or Job Seeker’s Allowance.
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Who has to have the Personal Capability Assessment?
Most people who have been incapable of work for more than 28 weeks will have to undergo the assessment. This will affect you if:
- your Incapacity Benefit entitlement continues; and/or
- you get a disability premium as part of your Income Support, or claim one in the future because you are unable to work; and
- you get National Insurance credits because of being unable to work.
However some people will automatically be exempt from the assessment and will not have to complete a questionnaire or have a medical examination.
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Who does not have to have the Personal Capability Assessment?
You will automatically be considered incapable of work without further tests if you:
- are in receipt of the highest rate of Disability Living Allowance care component because you need care day and night; or
- were getting Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) before April 13th 1995 and are still receiving it and continue to send in medical certificates to the DWP or are assessed as 80% disabled for SDA, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension; or
your doctor confirms that you:
- are suffering from a terminal illness; or
- have a severe mental illness severely and adversley affecting mood and behaviour; and restricting social functioning and awareness of your immediate environment; or
- have a severe learning disability; or
- are registered blind; or
- have AIDS or severe and progressive immune deficiency state; or
- have a heart or chest condition which means the effort required to do things makes you tire quickly; or
- have a severe muscle wasting disease such as multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, or Parkinson’s disease, for example; or
- have active and progressive arthritis in more than one joint; or
- have tetraplegia, paraplegia or dense paralysis of one side of your body; or
- are suffering from the effects of a severe stroke; or
- have dementia.
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When will I have the Personal Capability Assessment?
If you have been working, the test takes place when you have been off sick for 28 weeks. Until then you need to send in sick notes from your own doctor unless you are getting Statutory Sick Pay from your employer. If you are unemployed when you become sick you will have to undergo the test straight away.
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How does the assessment work?
There are two parts to the test: One looks at the physical problems you have, asking you to complete a questionnaire. The other will look at problems associated with your mental health, including anxiety and depression. This assessment consists of an interview with a social security doctor. (The DWP's Medical Service).
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The physical assessment
Initially you will have to complete lengthy questionnaire (IB50) which will ask how well you can do a number of activities like walking, lifting, seeing and hearing. In order to be found incapable of work you must reach a score of 15 or more unless you have a score in the mental health assessment as well.
The questionnaire does not tell you where the threshold lies or how many points each activity has been allocated.
For example, you will be awarded 15 points if you cannot stand for more than 10 minutes without having to sit for a rest, or 8 points if you cannot pick up and carry a 5 pound bag of potatoes with either hand.
If doing any of these tasks makes you very tired, gives you pain or you can only do them very slowly you should put this on the form as you should be considered unable to do them.
Before filling in the questionnaire you should think very carefully, as whatever you write will be used together with a medical by a Medical Service doctor to decide whether or not you pass the assessment. If you suffer from depression or have other mental health problems, do mention these on the form in as much detail as possible. Get advice on how to best explain your difficulties.
No one will be found capable of work solely on their answers to the questionnaire. You will always be offered a medical examination before your benefit is stopped.
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The medical
If you are referred for an examination you will be interviewed by a Medical Service doctor who will prepare an incapacity report for the decision maker. The assessment will start when the doctor collects you from the waiting room. They will watch how you get up from your chair and walk to the interview room, and may also watch you when you leave the building. They will ask questions to check the written answers you have already given against what you say to them. The doctor may also ask you about your hobbies. For example, if you have said you have difficulty sitting, they may ask can you sit to watch TV for a length of time. After this they will examine you. Do not do anything that you find painful or that will make you feel ill later. Tell the doctor you are unable to do it, and why.
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The mental health assessment
People with severe mental illness will not have to take the Personal Capability Assessment. If you suffer from a mental illness such as depression or have a moderate to mild learning disability there is a separate test in addition to the questionnaire of your physical disabilities. This test will consist of an interview with a Medical Services doctor. It will look at things such as your ability to take a telephone message, how you cope with the pressures of daily living and interact with other people. They should also consider issues such as anxiety and concentration or memory problems. A score of more than 10 will mean you are incapable of work and will get benefit. If your score is 6 or more, you can add it to any scores you get in the physical test.
For example, you will score 2 points if you suffer from panic attacks, or you will score 1 point if you cannot use a telephone directory to find a telephone number.
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What if you are refused benefit?
If you fail the Personal Capability Assessment it may still be possible to argue that you are incapable of work:
- because you suffer from an illness either mental or physical that would severely deteriorate if you returned to work or you would be a severe risk to other people.
- in certain exceptional circumstances.
- if you require major surgery or treatment within 3 months of being examined you should not be considered capable of work.
Seek advice if you think any of these may apply to you.
If after a medical examination you are refused benefit you can contact your local Jobcentre Plus Office to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
You have one month to appeal against this decision to an appeal tribunal. You may need to claim JSA and/or Income Support as soon as possible to protect your income.
Get advice on how to best present your case. You will usually need medical evidence to support you. ‘Signing on’ as unemployed will not count against your appeal. You can choose not to ‘sign on’ for work and claim Income Support whilst waiting for your appeal to be heard but your benefit will usually be reduced by 20% (of the single persons allowance).
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Where to get help
If you have any queries about Incapacity Benefit Entitlement, or you need someone to help you fill in the questionnaire, or represent you at an appeal tribunal, Nottinghamshire Welfare Rights Service (NWRS) holds advice sessions and provides advice on benefits to the public throughout the County.
There are also a number of other independent advice agencies who will be able to assist you. Please telephone NWRS advice line on 0845 601 5943 any weekday 11am to 1pm (answerphone) calls are returned the same day between 2pm to 4pm.
We can also advise on other issues relating to Incapacity Benefit such as Pathways To Work operated by some Jobcentre Plus Offices and Permitted Work.
You should always get advice if you are considering trying working or training to see how this may affect your benefit entitlement.
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Disclaimer
The information on this page is not legal advice. If you have a query about your benefits, you should talk to an advisor before making a decision. You may wish to call the Nottinghamshire Welfare Rights Service Adviceline on tel: 0845 601 5943 or find your nearest independent advice centre in Nottinghamshire or take a look at the national CLS/CDS Directory.
The information on this page is for people affected by UK Social Security law.
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